HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0393.341 2012-2014 Murashige, Laura
From: Duane Bartholomew [duaneb74 @gmail.com]
Sent: Monday, November 04, 2013 12:17 PM
To: counciltestimony @co.hawaii.hi.us
Subject: Testimony in Opposition to Bill 113
Attachments: DPBartholomew Testimony.pdf
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DPBartholomew
Testimony.pdf(1...
Dear Council members:
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Please find my testimony attached. 't.-4' n
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Sincerely yours,
Duane P. Bartholomew W ."<
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Comm. No. 3 9 3. 3 4 l
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1 Ref. Date NOV 1 9 2013
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TO: J. Yoshimoto, County Council Chair
Karen Eoff, Member 200 NOV 1 3 PH LI' Q0
Brenda Ford, Member
Greggor Ilagan, Member
Dru Mamo Kanuha, Member
Zendo Kern, Member
Dennis "Fresh" Onishi, Member
Valerie T. Poindexter, Member
Margaret Wille, Member
FROM: Duane P. Bartholomew, Ph.D.
SUBJECT: Testimony against County Council Bill No. 113
My name is Duane P. Bartholomew, and I retired from the Agronomy and Soil Science Department at the
University of Hawaii in 1997. I spent much of my career working on the physiology of pineapple in an effort
to help the Hawaii industry survive. I continued to work at the UH on a volunteer basis until 2012, helping to
teach Introduction to Plant Science in the Dept. of Tropical Plant and Soil Science and also did research on
pineapple problems. I am widely recognized as a world expert on the culture and physiology of pineapple
and still edit an international newsletter on pineapple (http://www.ishs-
horticulture.org/workin«..orou s/ nea le/)that goes to a mailing list of over 800 persons.
I ask that you to table County Council Bill 113. It is not based on good science but on hearsay and poor and
dishonest science that makes selective use of the literature to attempt to prove a point. When I was a graduate
student from 1961-1965, what is preached today as a justification for opposing the development and growing
of GM crops was referred to as academic dishonesty. You can't do good science and reject the majority of
the peer reviewed scientific literature.
GMO crops have the potential to solve many important crop problems. The breeding of pineapple is
extremely difficult. It is highly likely that four of the most important problems in pineapple production could
solved by GMO techniques and the GMO solutions could eliminate most of the pesticides used on pineapple.
Having GMO pineapple probably wouldn't have saved the Hawaii industry but it would protect future
workers from exposure to the pesticides needed to control two of the most important problems in pineapple.
The Hawaii County Council members should be role models for Hawaii's youth. We deplore the poor
knowledge and science skills of our students while legislative leaders introduce bills that show complete
ignorance about the issues under consideration. Legislative leaders should show that they are not ostriches
with heads buried in the sand while they ignore the reams of scientific papers that show that GMO crops are
not significantly different from traditionally grown crops and may even be safer than some conventionally
bred crops. Table the bill and get sufficiently educated about the science of crop breeding so you can make
an educated and rational decision about this wonderful new crop development tool.